A very very very very long wait
by ALMH
Summary: Next in the Spooks for a year challenge for WB 2/10/09, early because it's term time on Monday. Based on the conversations on SpooksForum. Thank you to everyone on there who gave me the inspiration : No real spoilers, vague spoilers for trailer. Enjoy.


**Date**: 8th December 2008.

**Location**: Rail Station, London.

Lucas slowly lowered the phone from his ear, staring at Ros. Her heart rate quickened, as Lucas began to speak.

"Have you spoken to Harry?" She had a sinking feeling as she continued to stare at him. Finally he looked away, and put the phone back to his ear. "Malcolm, we're going to get back to the Grid as soon as possible. Check on the Russian Embassy, and all flights leaving the UK."

He slowly put his hand down and stared at Ros, communicating without words. Both quickly glanced at the Russians there, then started to walk quickly away. They ignored the confused looks from people standing by, simply walking quickly out of the station. At that moment all they cared about was Harry, and getting as fast as possible to Thames House. Ignoring the waiting taxis (as they would go too slowly and cost too much,) Lucas instead jogged over to the nearest car, not so discretely breaking into the car without setting the alarm off. Both getting in, Ros for once letting Lucas drive. She had no doubt that he would get them there as soon as possible. She didn't speak as he sped through London, merely showing by her nervousness by her inattention.

"I think we may have a situation," Malcolm said nervously as they entered. "It's... It's not directly to do with Harry, but it is related... In fact, it's to do with all of us..."

"Malcolm, just tell us what's going on in as few words as possible," Lucas told him calmly, far more civilly than Ros would have managed. Malcolm brought out from behind his back a magazine, open at a page. Ros snatched it off him, Lucas looking at it over her shoulder.

"This is the Radio Times," Lucas told him, surprised. "What on earth can be a major problem that affects us that appears in the Radio Times."

"The powers that be have decided that it's the end of the series," Ros told him dryly, shoving the magazine into his chest so he had no choice but to fumblingly grab it before it dropped to the floor. "Our dear Auntie, the management in other words, have decided that now seems as good a time as any to stop us working on anything of real importance and plot significance."

"But Harry -"

"It's called dramatic tension," Jo interrupted him. "I'm guessing they feel that by leaving Harry's fate unknown, it will some how give them some benefits."

Lucas angrily dropped the Radio Times in the bin, sitting down angrily at his desk. He looked at his desk, at the pile of files that sat there, then up at the others. "So what are we meant to do? Because we can't go look for Harry, from what you're saying, so I'm guessing this paperwork can't be done either, so what are we meant to do?"

There was a moment of silence on the Grid. Finally, Jo piped up.

"Read a book?" She narrowly missed the pen thrown at her. She didn't send a torrent of curses at Lucas, nor did she glare at him intensely. Instead, she returned to her desk and pushed all the paperwork off it and onto the floor, and sat down at her desk. She took her ipod out of her bag, put the headphones on, put her feet on the desk... then she just stayed like that.

"You'll be able to catch up on all the television you've missed," Ros told him, ignoring his filthy glare.

"You'll get used to it," Malcolm told him sympathetically as he too left to go to his desk. Lucas looked to Ros, his one final hope.

"How long are we going to be like this... Just waiting? I mean, Harry could be lost, or even killed in the time we spend dithering."

"No he won't. The Russians won't do a thing to him whilst we're on a break. When we get back it will be like... like it had never happened. Like there had never been a break. Someone's pressed the pause on this, and we can't change it. Harry will be as well as he is now as he is whenever this ends."

"And when does it end?"

"We start again in Mid Autumn," Malcolm told him from the other side of the room.

"No specific date?" Lucas asked in surprise.

"We'll know nearer the time," Ros told him. "Until then we just wait." Lucas watched Ros as she too returned to her desk, then he took his head in his hands. How he was going to be able to spend approximately 9 months without being able to do anything to help Harry, he didn't really know.

* * *

**Date****:** 10th September 2009

**Loca****ti****on:** The Grid, Thames House.

"YES!" Jo yelled loudly, grinning madly and swinging on her chair.

"What?" Ros asked, irritated at the interruption from her book. "You've found your mascara -"

"No -"

"- Lipstick"

"No -"

"- Foundation"

"No -"

"What then?"

"We're coming back on 13th October!" Everyone's faces lit up, until their Jo spoke again. "It said so on Wikipedia!" Malcolm turned back to his computer, and furiously typed. Ros and Lucas just stared at Jo.

"Jo... you do know that not everything on Wikipedia is true," Lucas told her, as calmly as he could.

"But it's the right time! They said we were coming back mid October, the 13th is mid October, so it must be right!"

* * *

**Date:** 1st October 2009

**Location:** The Grid, Thames House.

Lucas stepped onto the Grid promptly at 9 o'clock. He didn't know why he arrived at work at 9, considering there was no real work to do. They only came in for the company. Unsurprisingly Malcolm and Ros were already in, and Jo was not far behind him. He sat at his desk, and turned the computer on. Then, he started his routine - Go onto the internet, search Google, check Wikipedia, check YouTube, and finally look on the BBC website.

"Bad news Jo," Lucas told her as she entered. "Wikipedia have just changed the date to the 19th." She let out a scream, and headed straight for the kitchen, returning five minutes later after angrily slamming down various pieces of equipment. He thought he heard a crack, but chose to ignore it. She now held in her hands a large cup of hot chocolate with an even larger chocolate bar.

"Why?" she wailed quietly as she sat down at her desk. Ros patted her gently on the shoulder as she walked past but Jo was already immune to the world, trying to drown her grief in her mug of hot chocolate, and to forget about it all by watching an episode of something that Lucas didn't recognise.

"Doctor Who," Malcolm explained to Lucas. "It had a massive revival about four years ago with Christopher Eccleston - he was in the film Jude, as Jude, in 1996. Now the current Doctor is David Tennant, he was probably unknown when you were last here but now he's an international success."

"So why is Jo watching Doctor Who as comfort watching? I thought it was always meant to be quite scary."

Malcolm looked over to Jo, then leant in to talk to Lucas. "She thinks that one of the characters - Tallulah - looks like her. I personally can't see the resemblance."

* * *

**Date:** 13th October 2009

**Location: **The Grid, Thames House.

They had sent Jo downstairs on a mission to retrieve more chocolate, tissues, and new mugs (she had already broken five in her anger,) before commencing their meeting.

"Ok, this is getting ridiculous," Ros started. "The BBC still haven't announced anything, Wikipedia have even given up."

"I've checked the number of weeks we're due to be back, then checked it against the calendar," Malcolm told them. "We need to be back by the first week of November by the latest, or else we're going to have to have a break over Christmas - I highly doubt that Beeb would put us in a prime time Christmas slot."

"Failing that or we'll start after Christmas -"

"It would have to be New Year. Normal scheduling is completely mucked up between Christmas and New Year."

Jo suddenly bounced on the Grid triumphantly, holding the magazine Total TV Guide firmly in the air. "We're back on the 29th October!"

* * *

**Date:** 19th October 2009

**Location:** The Grid, Thames House.

The mood on the Grid was full of tension. No one dared go near Jo, for fear of another outburst.

----Internal mail personal-----

-----Secure intranet-----

From: Rosalind Myers

To: Lucas North, Malcolm Wynn-Jones

Date: 19th October 2009 11:34

Subject: Return

This is getting ridiculous. Has anyone heard from Beeb or Kudos yet?

**Please do not put any information in this email which would affect national security. Thank you.**

This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("the intended recipient(s)") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is privileged and confidential within the meaning of applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible. The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by MI5 or any of it's employees. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail.

----Internal mail personal-----

-----Secure intranet-----

From: Malcolm Wynn-Jones

To: Rosalind Myers, Lucas North

Date: 19th October 2009 11:34

Subject: RE: Return

I've emailed both, as well as the Radio Times. The Radio Times apologised that the back page (the page of the magazine where we saw the picture saying that we would be in next week's Radio Times,) but that BBC had removed us from that week. They don't have any idea of what's going on, but at least they replied.

From Malcolm Wynn-Jones.

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This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("the intended recipient(s)") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is privileged and confidential within the meaning of applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible. The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by MI5 or any of it's employees. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail.

----Internal mail personal-----

-----Secure intranet-----

From: Lucas North

To: Rosalind Myers, Malcolm Wynn-Jones

Date: 19th October 2009 11:35

Subject: RE:RE: Return

Did you really expect one? Well, at least the Radio Times are replying to their emails. I think that we're going to have to keep any information about when we return secret from Jo until it is finally confirmed.

And Malcolm, you don't have to say that the email is from you. We know - it says your name at the top of it, where it says from:.

**Please do not put any information in this email which would affect national security. Thank you.**

This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("the intended recipient(s)") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is privileged and confidential within the meaning of applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible. The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by MI5 or any of it's employees. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail.

----Internal mail personal-----

-----Secure intranet-----

From: Malcolm Wynn-Jones

To: Rosalind Myers, Lucas North

Date: 19th October 2009 11:36

Subject: RE:RE:RE:Return

I was well aware of that thank you Lucas.

From Malcolm Wynn-Jones.

**Please do not put any information in this email which would affect national security. Thank you.**

This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("the intended recipient(s)") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is privileged and confidential within the meaning of applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible. The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by MI5 or any of it's employees. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail.

* * *

**Date:** 28th October 2009

**Location:** The Grid, Thames House.

It was nearly time to leave work, and Lucas had never been so relieved. It had finally been confirmed - they were back on the 4th November. There were going to be no more false alarms, no more smashing of cups, no more devastated Jo in the corner. Just the same nervous tension that had barely left the Grid since last Autumn, when Harry had been seen. There would be no more daily searches to find news, nothing, (although Jo had now taken to the daily search for a trailer on youtube. He simply put his iPod on, ignoring her.) Less than a month, and they would be back.

Malcolm suddenly rushed onto the Grid, looking pale.

"What is it Malcolm?" Ros asked with irregular concern. Malcolm carried in his hand the same magazine that had brought the bad news so many months ago. He had it open at the beginning of the magazine. Ros took it gently off him, seeing it.

"What's the matter?" Lucas asked, taking out his iPod headphones.

Ros looked palely up at him. "Spoilers." Lucas simply hit his head against the table, wondering why he ever asked. Suddenly he heard Jo squealing, and immediately put his headphones on. He vaguely saw out of the corner of his eye them all gathering round a computer screen. Reluctantly he took his headphones off and gathered round the screen as the trailer played.

They all let out a sigh of relief. "Harry's alive," Lucas whispered.

Lucas noticed that Malcolm still remained pale, but it was Ros who first asked. "What is it Malcolm? Harry's fine, he's alive."

"I wasn't in that trailer," he whispered quietly. "What's happened to me?" There was silence, the uncomfortable tension coming back. It would be a long wait until Wednesday.


End file.
